In the recent years, there has been a rise in the popularity of vegan diet. Reportedly, there are nearly 80 million vegans around the world. According to NHS, a vegan diet is based on plants (such as vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits) and foods made from plants.
Foods that come from animals, including dairy products and eggs are not consumed by vegans. According to NHS, if you choose to be a vegan, you can get the nutrients you need from eating a varied and balanced vegan diet including fortified foods and supplements. However, in the current times, more and more people are going into extreme fad diets and not prioritising the nutritional value.
Recently, vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, who has been promoting raw foods on social media, has reportedly “died of starvation” after living off a jackfruit diet, durian. Popularly known by her handle Zhanna D’Art, Samsonova died on July 21 after finally seeking medical treatment during a tour in Southeast Asia, according to local media outlet reports.
According to media, Samsonova died of a cholera-like infection.” She often claimed she ate a “completely raw vegan diet” for the last four years, consuming just “fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies, and juices.
Several media outlets, quoting her friend, stated that for the last seven years, Samsonova had only eaten the giant, sweet jackfruit and durian. She used social media to spread her raw diet doctrine, describing: “I eat simple food, although I have a lot of experience as a raw food chef. I love creating my own recipes and inspiring people to eat healthier.” However, people associated with her claim that her food choices are responsible for her demise.
‘Raw food diet may not always be healthy’
According to experts, a raw food diet may have multiple health benefits they also have several side-effects including deficiencies in calcium and Vitamin D, which are needed for strong bones.
“Going exclusively vegan can be fatal if not done with proper planning and consideration. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, and even some supplements. While a well-balanced vegan diet can be healthy, it requires careful attention to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients. Some potential nutritional deficiencies in a poorly planned vegan diet include vitamin B12, iron, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein. These deficiencies can lead to serious health issues such as anemia, bone density loss, neurological problems, and compromised immune function,” Sangeeta Tiwari, Consultant, Artemis Lite, New friends colony, New Delhi told Financial Express.com.
Tiwari also revealed that itt is crucial for vegans to educate themselves about nutrition, seek guidance from healthcare professionals, and include a wide variety of plant-based foods to meet their nutritional needs.
“Veganism can be a healthy and sustainable lifestyle when approached with knowledge and consideration, but blindly adopting it without understanding its nutritional requirements can lead to severe health consequences. As with any dietary change, consulting a healthcare professional is essential to ensure proper nutrition and overall well-being,” she added.
‘Strict vegan diet doesn’t have enough nutrient supplementation’
According to Dt. Ritika Samaddar, Regional Head – South Zone, Dietetics & Nutrition, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, one needs to be especially conscious of certain nutrients, as not taking them can have detrimental effects on health.
“Eating a strict vegan diet, it is very difficult to supplement enough of all of the nutrients and high-quality protein that is essential for good health. In vegan diet, the source of proteins is only legumes, nuts, and seeds. One needs to include them in all meals to meet the daily requirement of at least 50-60g / day. Other nutrients like calcium, Vitamin B12 and Iron are deficient in diet and one has to be taking supplements or fortified foods. Deficiency of these nutrients can lead to severe anaemia, weak bones, muscle wasting,” Samaddar told Financial Express.com.
She also emphasised that in the Indian scenario, it has been seen that following a vegan diet, is not sustainable for long as milk and its products are an integral part of our diet and secondly protein intake becomes quite low.
“We also have the modified version of Vegan diet now, the recent much talked about Raw vegan diet taken by influencer Zhanna, which focus only on fruits and veggies, can be fatal for life as it lacks all macro and micro nutrients like protein, fats, calcium, iron etc. We are what we eat and the food is an integral part of our health. Eat a healthy balanced diet, a diet which is easily available and healthy, and most important is sustainable. Never forget to couple your diet with an active lifestyle, which includes exercise, reduce stress and good sleep,” she added.
A healthy and varied vegan diet includes fruits, vegetables, plenty of leafy greens, Whole grain products, nuts and seeds and Legumes, she explained.
Dr Shobha Subramanian Itolikar, Consultant-Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital Mulund told Financial Express.com that while vegan is considered a healthy diet, it has cons. “Recently, a young woman who embarked on a plant-based diet (consumed only fruit) for seven years succumbed to nutritional deficiency. This raises questions about the safety of such diet fads,” she said.
According to Dr. Itolikar, some of the known minor drawbacks of a vegan diet are:
- Iron deficiency which can cause Anaemia
- Zinc deficiency which can cause impaired immunity
- protein deficiency which hampers immunity
- growth & repair
- excess legume consumption, which can cause a spike in carbohydrate levels leading to Hyperglycemia
- vitamin B12 deficiency causing Anaemia and
- neurological issues.
“…there are some serious issues related to this diet. They stem from over-obsession with healthy eating can lead to eating disorders and habits. This condition is where eating right becomes an obsession, causing one to deprive oneself of essential nutrients, and is termed ‘Orthorexia Nervosa’. This condition can be considered a parallel with Anorexia Nervosa, pushing people to the brink of malnutrition, leading to premature disease and death,” she told Financial Express.com.
Hence if one decides to become a vegan, one should focus on a well-rounded plant diet with an equal measure of proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and plenty of water, she added.
According to Dr Charu Dua, Chief Clinical Nutritionist, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, vegan diets have gained immense popularity over the recent years abroad. “I do not see many patients following vegan diet in India, but things are changing in India too. This vegan is been taken up in a big way abroad , as they eat 70 – 80gms of protein daily and less carbs, where as in India we are a carbohydrate eating population and mostly vegetarians. Non vegetarian Indians also do not overshoot the intake of proteins. Where’s as when you go vegan completely stopping animal food including dairy you have a carry a potential side effect of being nutritionally deficient on following nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, Vitamin b12. So one has to careful on picking their choices,” Dr. Dua told Financial Express.com.
As a nutritionist I would recommend don’t be on extreme side of either completely plant-based or completely animal-based, she added.
“With Vegan Diet, we foresee nutritional deficiencies, if we harsher of choices of the extent we want to avoid animal products. (Direct/ indirect) Harsher restrictions we pose, more chances of nutritional deficiencies increases. The main stay as the nutritionist still is eating a healthy balanced diet with appropriate portions from each food groups, which is prudent for healthy living, and prevents from hidden hunger both macro and micronutrients,” She said.
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